Debt Dumpers 2020

[crazycatstacy]

Our grocery bill has been out of control! There is only two of us but we can’t seem to stop buying groceries and eating. lol

 

[pblack]

Honestly I have no idea what we spend on groceries for a month (there's just 2 of us). If I had to guess anywhere between 300-500. It depends on if we run out of things all at once, if I find deals on things we normally buy, and how much we impulse by at Costco. Damn you Costco!!

 

[jen7233]

Non budget related question for my WDW peeps: if you only had half a day for a park would you choose epcot or animal kingdom and why?

I'm trying to figure out which parks I want to do for our 3 days in November (yes I'm still planning like its going to happen) and our breakdown will be:

Wednesday (arrival at 6 am) - mostly full park day (either epcot or AK)
Thursday - half a park day + Christmas party in the evening (either Epcot or AK)
Friday - full park day (leaning towards MK)

We're not really interested in trying to squeeze in Hollywood studios, unless someone can make a good argument for why we should check it out.

If I had to choose only between AK and Epcot, I'd choose Epcot. I like the world showcase, and the exhibits and rides better. However, I haven't been to Epcot since the construction went up, not sure how that would affect my mood on it. If I had three days like your calendar, my choice would be MK, HS, Epcot.

*I just checked my email and got an announcement from Southwest. I THINK I meet the newest extension of expiration date to Sep 7, 2022 on travel funds. I think....I hope!!!! Not entirely sure what constitutes this but I think my situation does (had flight I booked last September 2019 for April 2020, but then moved to July 2020, now not going in July 2020 either and also have extra funds sitting in my travel fund account with SW from things lowered prices regarding those), and will have to dig into it before getting too happy about it: Funds that are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020, and September 7, 2020, will have an expiration date of September 7, 2022.

If I meet that criteria, then I'll plan a trip with those funds next year, and would owe SW a thank you on Facebook.

 

[DLgal]

Honestly I have no idea what we spend on groceries for a month (there's just 2 of us). If I had to guess anywhere between 300-500. It depends on if we run out of things all at once, if I find deals on things we normally buy, and how much we impulse by at Costco. Damn you Costco!!

OMG, that's like our weekly grocery spend ($300). Right now it's me and 2 teen boys. They eat a lot.

 

[barkley]

it doesn't help grocery budgets right now that there are no sales to speak of. i can keep ours lower traditionally by stocking up during sales but now our stores aren't even putting out sales flyers.

 

[Eureka]

OMG, that's like our weekly grocery spend ($300). Right now it's me and 2 teen boys. They eat a lot.

I hear ya. Four of us, two are teen boys and eating ALL meals and snacks (well, we order dinner once a week) at home. So.Much.Food.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Is it weird that one of the reasons I want to go to Epcot is because it's one of the only things I remember from going when I was like 7? Lol. I know I keep saying this is our first trip, and it is as a couple, but I'm considering it my first trip also since I don't remember my actual first trip. I was/am also hoping that the Ratatouille ride will be open by November. I love that movie!

That's a very valid reason to want to go!!

 

[jen7233]

Out of curiosity, what do you guys budget for groceries every month and how many people do you feed? I felt like I was spending a LOT lately, but apparently I'm still under average when I googled it. How do people afford it?!

Family of four here, and I don't grow anything out back or can anything My budget is typically $700 a month. I don't always stay in that parameter, sometimes and usually a bit over, once in a while under. Last month I spent $1300! Seems crazy to even write that amount, but that also includes "stuff" in there, not all straight food. This month so far I've spent $560.

I track on Everydollar, so I can see the amount based on what stores I put under that category. But even that amount so far even this month is skewed, because I threw in under groceries category my Target run, and there's other stuff in that Target amount, like laundry soap, dryer sheets, body wash, a pack of my teen's football trading cards ended up in that amount also I'm sure. I don't itemize those type of purchases out on my budget tracker, way, way too in the weeds for me to itemize out every individual item on receipts. I also don't completely follow the budget, lol. It's more of a what I'd like to spend/what I did spend

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We budget $750-$900 for groceries (including toiletries) and gas (very minimal driving - mostly school pickup and groceries) for the month for a family of 5. Last month we went over by about $200, this month, so far, we've been under. Even before this Covid-19 situation, we cooked/ate most meals at home and packed lunches for school/work. Only increase is that our youngest DD was away for college (and therefore on the meal plan) and is home now. We do seem to be eating a TON more snacks like chips, cookies, fruit and the like, mostly out of pure boredom. And we have noticed that most stores in our area do not have sales flyers like they used to. DH would go to several stores nearby and cherry-pick the loss leaders, but he's been going to only 1-2 stores lately to minimize exposure/travel and trying to stretch those trips out as long as he can.

 

[StacyStrong]

Oh man. I feel so much better now. I am feeding 4 people (3 adults and an 18 year old boy) and I'm looking at 450-500 for the last two months. I don't feel so bad now. To be fair, I'm being supplemented by probably $75 from others running out and grabbing things when needed.

It just seemed SO high to me. I was really stressing out.

 

[jen7233]

Tweeted with Southwest on my flight and travel funds issue, seems I'm good and also family's travel funds good for that latest announcement Eventually their tech team will be working on those adjustments and will see those date changes to 2022. Summer flight I am not taking now also can be cancelled and get the travel fund credit to use later. Moonwalk time!!!

 

[FQLover]

And my amount only deals with food. I have a separate budget line for household goods like paper products, toiletries, cleaners, etc. That I try to hold to $100-$150 a month, the higher if I have to buy storage bins, or a printer cartridge, etc. And gas for the car is its own category with tolls, oil changes, car wash, etc. You never are sure you are comparing apples with apples when you talk about what you spend on this or that versus what someone else is spending.

 

[DisneyHardin]

it doesn't help grocery budgets right now that there are no sales to speak of. i can keep ours lower traditionally by stocking up during sales but now our stores aren't even putting out sales flyers.

Definitely!! I am a huge sale shopper/stocker upper. I'm really trying to only go to the grocery every other week, so when I went last time, my list was much longer than usual, but almost everything was "regular" price at Kroger. I am not used to that. I'm not generally brand loyal, so I will buy whatever brand of what I need is on sale. Most things on my list didn't have any brands on sale. I was able to use a few coupons.

 

[WeatherLights]

Grocery store trips for three adults is running me about $150 per week (includes things like soap and other hygiene products). That's pretty consistent with what I was spending pre-pandemic, I think.

I had the mobile groomer come by yesterday because I was concerned that the dog's nails were getting uncomfortably long. The groomer said, no, he has really long nail "quicks" so not much to be trimmed. He also got a bath, his anal glands were "expressed" (!) and his teeth were brushed (no extra charge for that because he does not have many teeth left). Total with tip was $66 dollars. A bit pricey but I appreciated having it done and no longer worrying about it.

The dog belongs to my stepdaughter who's been living with us for the last 6 months and he's a very sweet old man but, really, having a dog (and an adult child!) living in my home is not something I envisioned at this stage of my life. So many things happening outside of our control. That's always been the case, of course, but I'm feeling much more aware of it and actually doing pretty well with shifting my long standing habits of trying to "make" things happen a certain way.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We're not really interested in trying to squeeze in Hollywood studios, unless someone can make a good argument for why we should check it out.

1. Toy Story Mania. Seriously, I could ride this 20x in a row if they let me.
2. Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster. It's not for everyone but we still love it.
3. Sci Fi Dine in Theater. We're old enough to remember when drive in theaters were still popular so this adds some nostalgia for us.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

He also got a bath, his anal glands were "expressed" (!) and his teeth were brushed

What the ....? I'm no dog expert but have never heard of this in my life. Whew, just when ya think your job sucks, it could always be this.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

What the ....? I'm no dog expert but have never heard of this in my life. Whew, just when ya think your job sucks, it could always be this.

I worked in the animal care field (veterinary and pet sitting) for over a decade, and not every dog needs this to be manually done. You know the dog scooting on the carpet thing? That is due to anal glands. Most dogs can do it on their own but some cannot and need assistance. If they don't get expressed regularly they can become impacted and rupture, which is just as horrible as it sounds. So while expressing them sucks, dealing with the effects if you don't is even worse.

 

[Deffenm]

We got our stimulus check here as well. We put $2400 into savings and put $500 into dd's college account. Our grocery budget has gone up recently since nothing seems to be on sale. We usually spend around $500 a month for family of 3.

It would be hard to pick which park to do 1/2 day since we love them all for different reasons. My dd would say HS as she loves Tower of Terror and the shows. She likes all the other rides as well. HS is smaller so less walking then AK. If we did AK for 1/2 day it would be to do safari, lion king show, Flight of Passage, and Everest as many times as humanly possible. My DD rode it 13 times in a row the last time we went. I baled on her after 10 times. The bird show is also really good.

 

[pblack]

1. Toy Story Mania. Seriously, I could ride this 20x in a row if they let me.
2. Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster. It's not for everyone but we still love it.
3. Sci Fi Dine in Theater. We're old enough to remember when drive in theaters were still popular so this adds some nostalgia for us.

Is toy story mania, the midway mania ride/game? If so, I totally agree! We have the same ride/game at California adventure and it's one of my faves.

It would be hard to pick which park to do 1/2 day since we love them all for different reasons. My dd would say HS as she loves Tower of Terror and the shows. She likes all the other rides as well. HS is smaller so less walking then AK. If we did AK for 1/2 day it would be to do safari, lion king show, Flight of Passage, and Everest as many times as humanly possible. My DD rode it 13 times in a row the last time we went. I baled on her after 10 times. The bird show is also really good.

Wow, 13 times! That's impressive!

 

[afan]

What the ....? I'm no dog expert but have never heard of this in my life. Whew, just when ya think your job sucks, it could always be this.

It's more of a smaller dog thing too. My doxie goes in every 6 weeks, thankfully the vet doesn't charge if nothing needs to be done. But as he's gotten older, now 13 1\2, it has to get done more often but never know when. He's not a scooter since he grew up with hardwood floors. So they check at nail appts. I once googled how to do it and no thank you, I'll glady work it into my budget even going from twice a year to several.